UFC on ESPN 9 Bonuses: Burns, Dern, Royval, Elliott Receive $50K Awards

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Gilbert Burns earned an extra $50,000 for his five rounds of dominance against Tyron Woodley.

The Brazilian welterweight contender received one of the evening’s “Performance of the Night” bonuses for a unanimous decision victory over Woodley in the UFC on ESPN 9 main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Saturday night. Burns nearly finished his opponent in the opponent stanza and controlled the bout from there to earn a surprisingly lopsided triumph over the former welterweight king.

Elsewhere, Mackenzie Dern garnered the card’s other $50,000 “Performance of the Night” award thanks to a quick submission victory against Hannah Cifers in a featured strawweight encounter. After gaining top position halfway through the first stanza, Cifers made a mistake by attempting to land punches from above. That allowed Dern to roll for a kneebar and elicit a tapout at the 2:36 mark of Round 1.

Finally, Brandon Royval and Tim Elliott took home “Fight of the Night” honors and $50,000 apiece for their preliminary flyweight clash. Elliott set a wicked pace in the opening round, but once he tired, Royval gradually gained momentum. After a scramble on the canvas, the former Legacy Fighting Alliance champion was able to bring an end to the contest with an arm-triangle choke at the 3:18 mark of Round 2.